Basins and Shade: Invigorating Neighborhood Sustainability
Building a rain garden is an easy and affordable way to beautify your yard, and we're here to help you get started. Rain gardens are the containers that catch rainfall and support the growth of rain gardens—stunning ecosystems of plants and trees that help clean and recharge groundwater, provide habitat for native species, cool homes and sidewalks, and reduce flooding. Building your own rain garden is a quick and simple project that can be done at your home, school, place of worship, or other places around your neighborhood!
Download Our Build Your Own Basin Handouts
The Build Your Own Basin Zine (in English y español) introduces you to creating a basin from the beginning. To pick up a print copy, please visit us at our Living Lab & Learning Center!
Recharge the Rain: Build Your Own Basin
(3 Minutes) This BYOB (Build Your Own Basin) video with Joaquin was created as part of the Recharge the Rain program with AZ Project Wet and some students.
What's a basin, anyhow? How do I build one? Take a less-than-three-minute break and find out!
How To Build Your Own Basin
(6 Minutes) This video shows you step-by-step how to build your own basin, or raingarden. Great for your yard or any urban landscape space, learn how to quickly and easily transform your landscape into one that harvests rain and grows shade trees and native habitat. Special thanks to Christian Aguilar for filming and editing the video and to Lucinda Aguilar Carrasco for adding the Spanish subtitles.
Build Your Own Basin: A Virtual Workshop
(52 Minutes) Build your own basin! In this virtual event, Cultural Ecologist Joaquin Murrieta will show you step by step how to build your own rainwater harvesting basin at home. Learn from Joaquin and our other staff who lead our Co-op workshops. Through a time-lapse video, you will see a basin from start to finish and Joaquin will walk us through what they are doing.
This event is designed to help you build your own basin this monsoon season.
Rain Basin Tips
Water should sink in within 24 hours
Basins like this can reduce flooding and help to capture rainwater. Check your soil by conducting a percolation test to ensure that water won't stand too long in your basins. Photo provided by Margaret L.
Diverse plants make a great basin environment
With thousand of species native to Pima County--and thousands more native to surrounding regions--we have a ton of plants to choose from! A diverse set of agave, cacti, trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses will only help to maximize rainwater harvesting!
Protect new plantings
Surround those tender new plants with chicken wire or hardware cloth to protect them from bunnies, javelinas, and other nibblers.
How to Do a Soil Percolation Test
(6 Minutes) Learn how to do a simple soil percolation test to help you design your water harvesting basin (rain garden) or greywater system.
Build Your Own Basin: Success Stories
(2 Minutes) We want to celebrate everyone who helped dig basins and plant trees this spring. With the launch of our Build Your Own Basin (BYOB) kit distribution initiative this spring, we’ve distributed over 240 complimentary BYOB kits in March and April—sending folks home with native shade trees, native shrubs and wildflowers, and organic mulch!
Rain Basin Tips
Reinforce basin walls
Use rocks to build reinforcements for basin walls to prevent erosion. The steeper your basin walls, the sturdier your rock reinforcement needs to be!
Plan for overflow
Planning for overflow ensures that the water goes where you want it--and where you can use it. Basin overflows (spillways) should be armored with rocks so they don't erode. Best practices is to have four vertical inches between the bottom of your overflow and the top of your basin wall or berm.
Use organic mulch
Organic mulch helps to retain moisture and keep the soil cooler, which makes your plants happier. Wood chip mulch and plant cuttings in your basins will help create healthier soil and a cooler environment.
Download The Rain Garden Care Handbook
Once your basin is established, the Rain Garden Care Handbook (in English y español) will help you maintain your basin. To pick up a print copy, please visit us at our Living Lab & Learning Center!
